Driver with 3 DUI priors charged with murder

San Diego  A motorist convicted in three drunken-driving cases and a host of lesser driving offenses has been charged with murder in connection with a recent crash that killed a motorcyclist in Bay Park.

Jeremy Lucas Salcedo, 26, faces charges of murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit-and-run driving resulting in death and driving on a license suspended in a prior DUI case, a District Attorney’s spokeswoman said Tuesday.

San Diego police said that on July 25, Salcedo pulled a U-turn on Morena Boulevard south of Balboa Avenue and slammed into a southbound motorcyclist, then drove off. Officers pulled over his Audi and arrested him shortly after 1 a.m.

The motorcycle rider, Bryan Delaney, 36, was hospitalized with major head injuries and died more than a week later, on Aug. 3.

Delaney, a waiter at George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, was heading home from work at the time, said San Diego police traffic investigator Dan Wall. He said Salcedo was heading home after drinking with friends in La Mesa.

Salcedo was originally booked on DUI and hit-and-run charges then released on $100,000 bail. The day after Delaney died, Salcedo was arraigned on the new charges, including murder because of his prior DUI convictions, Wall said.

Salcedo's bail was increased to $500,000 and he posted a bond for his release.

San Bernardino County court records show Salcedo was convicted in DUI cases filed last September, in December 2012 and in August 2006. Wall said Salcedo failed to appear in a fourth DUI case, so a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The records also show for convictions back to 2006 for driver’s license violations, speeding at more than 100 mph, running stop signs, and not wearing a seatbelt. Other cases involving driving on a suspended license, speeding, having no proof of insurance and failure to appear were dismissed, court records show.